fungus – Page 5 – סלומה

Sophie Lécuyer (French, b. 1987, Épinal, France) – Picking Water, 2015 Lithograph

Podostroma cornu-damae

Cordyceps fungi is a common ingredient in Chinese herbal
medicines. In general, mushrooms wouldn’t seem like an obscure
ingredient, however, this particular mushroom grows from the bodies of
insects. If a spore lands on an insect, it can infect it. The fungus
then grows within the body, using the internal organs as a food source.
Eventually, the fungus rips out of the insect, distributing more spores.

Ramaria araiospora.

Pink slime mold heart (Tubifera ferruginosa) sprouting leaf wings.

The ghostly-white spindles of Clavaria fragilis.

Could a zombie apocalypse happen in real life? It already (kind of) does in nature — and not just to ants.

This is Physarum polycephalum – a slime mold that has become somewhat of a celebrity due to its performance in laboratories and mazes. Here it is in its natural habitat moving over and cleaning out a small bracket fungus Stereum subtomentosum. Fungi are among its favourite foods.

In English it’s called caterpillar fungus, but it’s better known
throughout Asia by the Tibetan term, yartsa gunbu, which means “summer
grass, winter worm." The fungus sells for $50, 000 a pound and has been nicknamed ‘The Himalayan Viagra” due to it’s medicinal properties and rise in China as a status symbol.

The Cordyceps Fungus

This parasitic fungus preys on insects, slowly invading and
overtaking its host. Some Cordyceps species can exact a degree of mind
control on its victim, forcing them to climb up high in their last
moments so the Cordyceps’ spores can fall down on more victims below.